New oncology patients at BC Children’s Hospital, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, now receive state-of-the-art testing for genetic variations that increase the risk of serious complications from two common chemotherapy drugs. With the results of this testing, each child’s care team can develop a personalized treatment plan that balances the risks of side effects with the therapeutic benefits of these life-saving drugs.

(Vancouver – Sept. 24, 2015) – Researchers at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) BC Children’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have found a genetic variation that brings a five times higher risk of heart damage for cancer patients treated with a type of chemotherapy drug called anthracyclines.

For children, it’s the riskier outdoor play spaces – the empty lots, forests, beaches, and alleys – that are often the most interesting, imaginative and stimulating. That’s one of the key findings of a pilot project from Dr. Ian Pike and the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit.

As students are heading into mid-terms, doctors and parents alike are concerned about children’s and adolescents’ consumption of caffeinated energy drinks. Dr. Ran Goldman, emergency room physician, paediatrician, and researcher with CFRI’s Innovations in Acute Care & Technology group, addresses these concerns in his most recent column in Canadian Family Physician, the peer-reviewed publication of the College of Family Physicians in Canada.

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